Can I tell you about
(No I will tell you about)
the piece of who I am
that withers in my ribcage
screams to be let out
to the surface level
of my life story.

It’s been hidden
(No trapped)
for a long long time
from people who don’t understand
that I’m not exactly a woman
or a man
,not quite sure what I am,
but so many don’t want to understand
including my grandparents and Mom and Dad.

But with each word I read
each child I teach
and friend I meet
I see there’s others
who know me
and this piece
of my life’s journey
and it gives me courage
that someday (soon maybe)
I can be authentically
Me
They/Them
(No parentheses)